


Floral shirt and dimpled smile

by Carlin



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, But mostly fluff, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Harry is an arty hipster, M/M, and Harry is perfect, and Zayn a grumpy cat, he's perfect though, liam is protective, oops told it already, there's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-08
Updated: 2015-01-08
Packaged: 2018-03-06 18:10:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3143744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carlin/pseuds/Carlin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. Sneaking out of her diner party Emmy wasn’t expecting to find an even better way to celebrate her job promotion.</p><p>Or the one where Harry wears weird shirts – not so surprising – and is everything a girl could dream of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Floral shirt and dimpled smile

**Author's Note:**

> Hello to you!
> 
> Second fanfic because writing the first one was so much fun.
> 
> A bit different this time because there's no Louis, but hey, it's pretty cool too! Wait and read, you'll see.
> 
> So cheesy but fluff is what I'm living for.
> 
> Big up to my shameless fellas. Can't wait to go on the road with you crazy twats, 'cause even when the night changes it will never change me and you. Hihi.
> 
> All the love. xx

_“Heeere! Just ordered a fancy cocktail, hurry! Xx”_

Emmy was sat alone at a table in a corner of her favourite restaurant, waiting for her two best friends to show up. Well, that wasn’t actually 100% true. She was waiting for her best friend and his boyfriend. Of course she liked Liam’s boyfriend, it’s just that Zayn could be a bit of grumpy cat sometimes. When Liam was all cheery and chatty, Zayn was all quiet and mysterious. And gorgeous.

Yes, she’ll always remember the day Liam introduced her to his new boyfriend. It was like he was coming straight from a fashion magazine. The guy was dressed in black from head to toe, small earrings on each ear, and a loose strand of hair dancing in the wind. You could say he was hotter than the sun. And gay.  
 _Story of my life_ , had thought Emmy that day.

Anyway, of course they had been perfect together for a year now, and even if she was glad for her friend to have found his “soulmate” – quote from Liam – she couldn’t prevent herself from being a bit jealous of all this happiness. Just a tiny bit. Was she a bad friend?

There she was waiting for them, like always – _why would you give a time slot to arrive 20 minutes later?_ \- but this time she decided to keep it cool, they were here to celebrate her promotion after all, a cocktail would be just fine.  
Sipping her too sugary beverage she noticed that the waiter had sat her at a table dressed for four when she gave him Liam’s name for the reservation. And she had a bad feeling about it.

Emmy was caught in her thoughts when her phone vibrated loudly on the table, announcing a text from Liam:

 _“Sorrrry Emmy, heading here in 10! We just had to make a quick stop to pick up a friend. Drinks are on me :) “_  

Bad feeling confirmed. Putting her glass aside on the table, she typed back a quick reply:

_“What friend?!”_

She saw the little dots getting animated on her screen, illustrating that her friend was writing something. Then nothing for few seconds. And then the dots dancing again. Emmy knew perfectly what Liam was doing, he was trying to type an answer that would confuse the issue. She was drumming her fingers on the table, waiting for a reply, and wasn’t surprised when she read Liam’s following text:

_“A new colleague of Zayns who doesn’t know loads of people, but super funny and fit, and straight ;)”_

Here we go. Pretending to do a good deed while arranging a date.  
That had been the exact same scenario for a couple of months now. At first she felt it was really thoughtful of Liam to help her out with her apparent lack of know-how with guys. But now that was just too much. Liam had a real challenge here: getting her a boyfriend and he won’t stop until she would find one. That was exhausting. She just wanted to spend a good time with her friends for God sake. Was it too much to ask for?

Resolutions of keeping it cool already forgotten she typed back, frowning:

_“DAMN IT LIAM its always the same with you two. I don’t care about a fucking double date I just want a night out with my friends. This is really pissing me off.”_

Maybe it was a bit harsh but man, it needed to stop. Liam answered anyway: 

_“Didn’t mean to annoy you, sorry babe :( we’re almost here xx”_

_OF COURSE YOU DIDN’T MEAN TO ANNOY ME BUT YOU DID,_ she screamed to herself. He needed an intervention. Before thinking twice she downed her cocktail in a single gulp, took her bag, put her leather jacket under her arms and made her way to the front door.

Before making a last stop to the toilets she called out a waiter:

_“Please put the cosmo on the final bill and tell my friends I left!”_

\--

 

Pulling up her tights too quickly she heard a tearing sound and…crap. A run in her tights was not what she needed right now.

“Fuck fuck fuck. I HATE SKIRTS, I HATE TIGHTS, WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?” she shouted in the cabin. “I should have worn my pants and vans as usual but NO I DECIDED TO WEAR A FUCKING SKIRT TONIGHT AND…”

The sounds of someone entering the room whistling made Emmy stop her litany. She stared at her leg, and well, she couldn’t go out like that. The tights were ripped on all the area of her left thigh in a huge hole that couldn’t go unnoticed. She searched in her bag and thanked silently – because of a stranger peeing next door - her mom for always telling her to put a backup pack in her purse.

Problem solved she opened the door and went to the sink to wash her hands. Still internally swearing about everything she was pissed at, she felt a presence next to her and suddenly heard someone giggling.

Emmy raised her head and looked at the mirror to try to identify who dared be in such a happy mood when she was just a bundle of nerves. She quickly spotted a tall guy, staring at her with a smile on his face. When their eyes met she asked dryly:

“What?”

“Nice shirt” he answered with a smirk.

“WHAT??” she shouted back, because yes, she was on edge and it wasn’t the right moment for a weird guy to intervene.

“Oh! Sorry, I was just saying that you had a nice shirt because, um…” said the guy confused gesturing between them.

Emmy tore her gaze away from the mirror to look at the guy and then realised that he was wearing the exact same shirt as she was, with huge coloured flowers spread out all over it. How was that even possible?  
She remembered buying it in the female section at Selfridges and didn’t think a second that a guy could wear this kind of girly pattern. It was too much to handle for one night. Emmy exploded in an uncontrollable fit of laughter, eyes crying, and laughed for what seemed a decade.

When she remembered that the guy was still standing next to her, she tried to regain some composure and said:

“I am really sorry, I don’t usually yell at people but my friends…” she raised her head while speaking and when she really looked at the guy the words weren’t coming anymore. He was just, whoa.

The giggling guy, who wasn’t giggling anymore, was staring at her with wide green eyes full of disarray but still managed to look sexy as hell. Brown curls were framing his face and resting on his large shoulders. His floral shirt was slightly opened to show a glimpse of chest tattoos trimmed with chains and a cross pendant. He could look ridiculous but was clearly, definitely not.

Emmy was standing gapping and couldn’t think of what she was intending to say. That seemed to amuse the guy who asked after a short beat like an encouragement to go on:

“Your friends?”

“My friends…” she began after regaining consciousness “my friends were 30 minutes late and pissed me the hell off, I ruined my tights, and now you are wearing this shirt. By the way, how come? I mean don’t take me wrong it looks nice on you but I am pretty sure it is made for girls right?”

And yes, a side effect of Emmy’s unease was obviously verbal diarrhoea.

“Um, I liked the pattern” said the guy blushing a little.

“You are wearing a girl shirt because you liked the pattern?” she asked amazed.

“Well, technically this is a mixed garment so I could ask why are you wearing a man shirt?” he said quirking an eyebrow.

“Good point, I guess” not really convinced but still mesmerised by how the guy was fit. Too fit to be true perhaps, so she decided it was time to leave. “Anyway, I was about to sneak off and dump my friends here, so, um, nice to meet you.”

“Harry” the guy added, smile showing a dimple on his cheek.

“Harry” she repeated not moving a jot.

 _I am going to die if I don’t skip out now,_ she thought and well, to be fair, it was pretty unusual to run into guys like him in some restaurants’ toilets these days. Harry kept smiling, and oh, he had to stop that. When she remembered she was going to leave she added:

“Okay, leaving” and made her way to the door.

“Wait!” shouted Harry to stop her when she had her hand on the doorknob. “Actually tonight is quite odd for me too, sneaking out sounds tempting right now. What do you think, um…?”

After a beat of silence where they were just staring at each other, Harry let out a small laugh and said:

“Well, the intonation and pause were meant to imply that I was waiting for your name.”

“Oh. Right. Emily” she answered blushing.

“So what do you think Emily?” he asked again laughter in his voice.

“About what?”

“Me tagging along?” he asked full of hope.

“Oh. Um, sure.”

“Great! Wait for me outside? I’ll grab my jacket and meet you there” answered Harry, his face lighting up like a child on Christmas Eve.

 _What the hell happened in here_ , thought Emmy as she was waiting in front of the restaurant. That was definitely not how she expected her celebration diner to be. But if the Harry guy kept smiling and showing his dimples it would be just fine. Maybe she would have to think of answers more eloquent than just two-words sentences, but hey, that was just details.

 

\--

 

“Shall we go?” A raspy voice awoke her from her thoughts.

“Yes, sure.” She tried to smile but how could you think straight when a guy like that was giving you such an intense glare.

They started walking in a confortable silence when Emmy asked:

“So, um, your friends weren’t mad at you for leaving?”

“No, not really. I was sort of the third wheel tonight anyway. Made them a favour for a romantic diner I guess.”

“Why didn’t you bring you girlfriend?” And okay, zero brain to mouth filter then. “I mean, sorry, it wasn’t subtle at all. I tend to say stupid thing when I am nervous” she said all blushing.

“Why are you nervous Emily?” asked Harry in a smile.

“I just remembered that I met you in the toilets 10 minutes ago and now we are walking in the street, I am hungry, it’s dark and I have no clue where we are heading.”

To what Harry laughed and added in a soft voice:

“Well I am no danger, and hey, we’re in the same team anyway” he said pointing at his shirt. 

“Not creepy at all” she joked.

“For your other concerns, no girlfriend at the moment and we’re going to this place I know where they serve the finest pizzas, if that’s okay with you?”

“Sure.”

_Sure. Sure. Sure. Is that all you can say?_

Suddenly she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket and suspected it to be a text from Liam. It was.

_“Sorry Em I didn’t think you’d be that upset. Just want you to be happy. Hope you’re not pouting. Was the last time I promise :( Love you”_

Emmy couldn’t prevent herself from feeling a bit guilty. Liam was meaning well after all. He always had been protective with her, even over protective sometimes. But she was glad someone was taking care of her, like the big brother she never had. They met at UNI and hadn’t left each other since then.

She raised her head to meet Harry’s eyes and said grimacing:

“Sorry I’ll just answer this text, it’s from the friend I left earlier”

 _“It's okay, sorry I ran out, wasn’t my best move. Anyway, I found some company for the night I’ll call you tomorrow?_ :) _Love you too. Em”_

“Everything’s okay?” asked Harry when she finished typing her text.

“Yeah, none of us likes fighting anyway so it’s almost all forgotten.”

“Glad to hear” answered Harry in a reassuring smile.

 

\--

 

Even if they had been a bit quiet during their walk, they couldn’t stop talking once they sat at the little table in the corner of the restaurant. The conversation went by really easily, from the last movie they saw to Harry’s birds tattoos. Because, yes, Emmy _had_ to ask.

Emmy was in a cheeky mood that night and was proud of her witty replies. And Harry, well you couldn’t really tell if Harry was flirting with Emmy in particular or with the entire room, his charisma shinning like an aura in the restaurant. Even the waitress blushed like a little girl when Harry ordered his pizza.

The evening went by as quick as a blink of an eye and it took Emmy by surprise when she realised it was almost midnight as they were leaving the restaurant. She remembered that she had a train early in the morning to visit her sister for the weekend, so it might be the moment to leave. Bad, bad timing.

“Well Harry, sadly I need to call it a night if I want to catch my train tomorrow morning.”

“This is bad news ” said Harry, making a disappointed face.

“Oh trust me, I know.”

As she was looking at him, and couldn’t really believe that she just spent more than three hours with this guy, she thought that luck might be on her side for a change and decided to be bold for once. She asked, pulling out a pen from her purse:

“Give me your arm.”

Harry obeyed quickly with a questioning look and held out his arm to Emmy. She pulled up his sleeve and as she started to write her phone number on his forearm she added:

“I am making a move here, just for you to know. There you have my number if you want to call me sometimes. No pressure. I’m not here this weekend but maybe next week? As I said, no pressure at all.”

“I will definitely write you before next week…” answered Harry with the widest smile she’s ever seen in her entire life. And yes, she could get used to being the reason of it.

Then he bent his head and dropped a light kiss on her cheek “yeah?”

“Sure” she said with a high-pitched voice she didn’t recognise, not really believing what just happened.

As she was going to bed that night, mentally thanking Liam for pissing her off and making her leave the restaurant earlier she received a text from Harry:

 _“Sneaking out hadn’t been that fun in ages :)  
_ _Ps: shirt looks way better on you xx”_

To what she replied:

_“That’s a lie, but I’ll take it anyway. Good night Harry :)”_

 

\--

  

Emmy tried to not overthink her improvised date during the weekend _wait could we call it a date?_

Well to late anyway since she has already dreamt about brown curls and dimpled smile. But hey, who couldn’t? She didn’t talk about it to her sister though. Even if Jane and her were really close she wanted to avoid any kind of ill fortune. She wasn’t event sure she’ll see the guy again, so maybe it was for the best to just keep it as a nice private memory.

In the train back home on Sunday evening, after having said goodbye to Jane and her little nephew with teary eyes, because yes her big sister was sort of a drama queen always crying even if they saw each other every months, she felt a vibration in her pocket. She suspected it to be a text from Jane with a silly picture of baby George waving goodbye like she usually received but to her surprise the text was coming from Harry.

_“Hey there, hope you had a lovely weekend. Was wondering if you had something planned tomorrow night? We could go for a drink, but you know, no pressure at all :) xx”_

_YES. YES. YES!!_ _Get a grip sista for God Sake._

She waited a couple of minutes to answer, no one wants to sound too enthusiastic right?

_“Hey! always nice to hang with the family thanks :) Wasn’t planning on doing anything tomorrow but a drink seems nice as long as you are paying.”_

Because what the hell.

She got an instant reply:

_“That’s going to cost a pretty penny…”_

_“Sorry I just remembered I’m busy tomorrow night.”_ She answered _._

_“No you’re not! I’ll text you around 5pm to give you the address?”_

_“If you insist, okay.”_ Maybe she needed to stop giggling because the old lady in front of her was starting to give her mean looks.

_“Oh and I’ll be wearing a check shirt, just in case :) I’ll see you then, good night Em.xx”_

_“Sleep tight weirdo. xx”_

Okay so she was going to see him again after all.

Emily 1 – Bad Luck 0.

 

\--

 

Emmy arrived a bit late at the address Harry gave him earlier in the afternoon. She was a little busier at work since she got promoted and still needed time to adjust her schedule. Harry was already here when she entered the pub, leaning on the counter and talking eagerly to the bar tender. Emmy felt a little peak of jealousy when she noticed that the bar tender was a _she_ and a pretty fit blond one. _Bitch._

She suddenly heard a voice calling for her:

“Em! Emily! Over here!”

When she regained consciousness she realised that she was standing in the middle of the pub, staring at the waitress who had moved to serve another client, and that Harry was waving at her. She made her way to meet Harry who embraced her in a quick welcoming hug.

“Hey there, what were you doing standing like a lost puppy?” asked Harry in a mocking smile.

“First, I was not standing like a lost puppy, second I didn’t want to interrupt” she said gesturing toward the waitress and answering to his grin.

“I see. Gem! GEM!” he shouted to the blond girl who came straight away answering to Harry’s call.

“Yes love?” And yes, maybe Emmy rolled her eyes a little.

“Can I introduce you to Emily, the friend I was talking about earlier. Emily meet my sister Gemma” said Harry feeling super proud of himself at this moment.

_Oh, sister._

“Hey Love, nice to meet you. Heard about the shirt incident, gutted I wasn’t here to see that, but you know what, coming from my brother, I’m not even surprised” said Gemma in a smile full of kindness pinching Harry’s shoulder.

Emmy’s face reddened more than ever and she regretted instantly having called her a bitch two minutes ago. Woopsie.

“Hi, um, nice to meet you too Gemma” was all she managed to say.

“Call me Gem! Wanna drink something?”

“Sure, I’ll take your more expensive cocktail” she answered turning to meet Harry with glimmering eyes.

“Heyyy don’t ruin me!” he said in a pouting face.

“Come on idiot I never make you pay here!” shouted Gemma.

“Well, now I understand why we came over here. You’re not gaining point Harry, not at all” stated Emmy, trying to look serious. She failed.

“So we are counting?” asked Harry in a smirk.

“Okay then I am leaving. Good luck with him hun!” said Gemma smiling and making her way to prepare the fancy cocktail.

After a short beat Emmy turned again to face Harry and asked tone cheeky:

“Isn’t it too early to introduce me to your family Harry?”

“Oh I was just giving her the save the date of our wedding, hope you don’t mind I didn’t wait for you Love?” answered Harry in an equal tone, smile broadest as ever.

_Oh my. This boy is going to kill me._

Emmy was saved from her lack of repartee when Gemma came back with a glass full of transparent liquid:

“This is a Royal Mojito. He’ll pay for it.”

To what the both of them burst into laughter leaving a definitely pouting Harry finishing his beer in a gulp.

“One more please. I’m going to need it.”

It was Emmy’s turn to pinch his shoulder, a little more gently than intended.

 

\--

 

They stayed at the counter the entire evening, Gemma giving them some privacy but coming from time to time to tease her brother and tell silly stories about him. Harry may have blushed once and Emmy thought it was the cutest thing she ever witnessed.

Harry was a really interesting guy, funny in a weird way but still funny, and had many stories to tell. He had travelled a lot and had many anecdotes Emmy was delighted to hear. At some point she was just staring at him with wide eyes, nodding from time to time, totally mesmerised by this guy making such long sentences at such low speed. As the evening went by Emmy couldn’t prevent herself from silently naming their future children’s name. _Way too soon, way too soon, way too soon._ She suddenly remembered it was only Monday and that she had an important meeting the next day in the morning, so sadly again, time to call it a night.

Harry offered to walk her home after having paid for everything they drunk as promised to Gemma’s amused surprise. _And well, Lily for a girl maybe?_

Arriving in her street Emily started to slow her speed because it was really too soon to leave him. Maybe she wasn’t the only one feeling this way because when she stopped at the front door Harry said in a small blush:

“So um, I need to go to the opening of this exhibition on Wednesday, for work I mean. I’ve been working on it for a couple of weeks now, just need to check if everything goes fine. So, um I was wondering if maybe you wanted to join me there? I don’t know if I’ll be super busy but maybe you could ask a friend to come with you so you are not alone if I need to work a little, but um, it would be nice to see you there, I mean, if you want to of course?”

“That was a really long sentence” she simply said mocking him gently.

“Please?” he asked making a face. 

“I’d be glad to come.”

Harry’s face lit up like if at some point he could have thought she was going to decline the invitation. _Duh!  
_ Then he bent his head a little, put a hand on Emmy’s cheek, dropped a light kiss on her lips and whispered a soft “Great then.”

He pulled back and looked at her with a wide smile, leaving Emmy speechless.  
She tried to give him back a smile and mumbled a nearly inaudible “Yeah great.”

Before turning to open the door she managed to say goodnight, to what Harry answered still smiling:

“Goodnight Em, I’ll text you.”

Entering in her flat she went straight to her room and collapsed fully dressed in her bed.

 

\--

 

Emmy was glad she invited her friend Jess for the opening because she really didn’t see Harry much. Wandering alone in hipster exhibitions wasn’t her favourite hobby, plus small talks about arts with strangers weren’t her forte. Well, she liked arts but wasn’t an expert about it.

The moment their eyes met, Harry waved at her frankly mouthing from far that he’ll catch up on her later. Jess and she had time to cheerfully down a glass of Champaign when she saw a man in a dark shirt coming to them. Head fizzing she didn’t notice straight away that this guy was Harry until he took her in a small hug and kissed her slightly on the cheek. _Oh._

Then he introduced himself to Jess who was apparently under his spell as well, not able to elaborate a proper answer.

Harry was wearing a dark shirt with small flowers patterns embroidered in a lighter tone. The guy liked flowers then. But this time the shirt wasn’t half opened on his wide torso but buttoned up to the top giving him a very elegant look. Emmy wondered how he could fit in such skinny black jeans and suddenly felt way underdressed in her casual jean dress and black boots. At least they had heals. Good point.

“I’m really glad you made it, you look stunning tonight” he told Emma in a soft voice.

“ _You_ look stunning” she answered pointing at him.

“ _You_ need to start accepting compliments Love” he said amused and left them both surprised by the nickname. He added quickly: “I’m sorry I don’t have loads of time tonight but you two enjoy the exhibition okay? I need to go but I’ll come back to talk to you soon.” A last smile and he left them both mouth hanging opened, especially Jess who hadn’t said a single word since he arrived.

“I know right?” said Emmy turning to face her friend in a sigh.

The evening went by smoothly, Emmy and Jess enjoying the open bar properly. At some point they met a couple of Jess’s friends and tagged along with them to finish the tour of the exhibition. One of the guys was a huge fan of the artist’s work and commented every piece of it. That could have been interesting if Emmy was actually paying attention, but right now she was just searching for Harry in the crowd, and jumped every time she saw a glimpse of brown curls.

One hour later and still no traces of Harry in the wide room, so the two friends reluctantly decided it was time to go home. They were waiting for their coats in the cloakroom when Emmy felt a warm presence behind her. She turned to meet Harry and heard him asking in a smirk:

“Sneaking out with saying goodbye, are we?”

“Sorry, I couldn’t find you, but I was going to text you!”

“I am the one who should be sorry for inviting you and not spending more than two minutes with you” he said apologetic.

Jess waived goodbye after picking up her jacket and announced she was going to wait for Emmy outside.

“Don’t worry we had fun, and the exhibition is really interesting, well done Styles.”

“Thanks, it means a lot. Um, I saw that you were talking to people earlier they are your friends right?” asked Harry running his hand through his hair.

“Yes, why?” she answered carefully.

“I was eyeing you to intervene in case you were wooed by some arty hipster” he admitted in a smile.

“You are an arty hipster Harry.”

“That’s really not the point here” answered Harry laughing. “Anyway I need to stay a little bit longer and trust me I am really sorry about it. But what about a proper date at my place on Friday to make up for tonight? I’ll cook diner and maybe woo you a little” he added in a smirk.

“You’re making me blush.”

“It’s actually really cute” Harry said in a fond voice, “7 pm?”

“Sure” she answered returning the smile Harry was giving her.

Harry kissed her goodbye by giving her a light peck on the cheek and as he was walking away waving at her Emmy thought that Harry’s dimples were the best thing ever created on earth.

 

\--

 

The end of the week went by pretty quickly and Emmy was getting more and more excited as she was getting closer to Friday night. She couldn’t stop thinking about Harry and actually started to get worried, was it okay to be so fond of a boy after only one week? They were clearly getting along more than well, and even if she was glad that Harry could apparently wait before going into more serious things, a part of her was frustrated that he only gave her a light peck ages ago.

She couldn’t stop thinking about his green eyes, always glimmering when he was looking at her and the way his face lit up when he smiled. She wanted to discover the way his lips would feel in a real kiss and what his tongue would taste.

Harry’s texts were just making Emmy like him more every minutes of the day. Always here to remind her how funny and thoughtful he was. They even had started to flirt and okay, saying that Emmy was excited for their upcoming date was an understatement.

Nonetheless when Friday arrived her mood changed to a more stressed mode. They saw each other few times but more or less always surrounded by other people. What if they had nothing to say? Harry seemed to be the chatty type, and she could be as well, but what if he realised that she had nothing special compared to him? Because yes, the guy was definitely special.  

Going back home after work she just had time to take a shower, retouched her makeup and changed her clothes into her favourite pair of black pants, white top and large beautiful necklace. Elegant but casual, it was just meant to be a cosy diner at home right?

When she arrived at the address Harry gave him she was not surprised to see that he lived in the trendy part of the city, in a nice old building. Pressing on the doorbell she couldn’t prevent the small buzz in her veins and when Harry opened the door she couldn’t remember her own name.

Harry was wearing skinny black jeans this time again, even tighter than the ones Emmy had on, and a loose black tee shirt showing some new arms tattoos. And oh. Bun alert.

Harry’s hair was this time tied up in a bun, revealing the sharp angle of his jawline and lovely, lovely collarbones.

Emmy could either faint from the lack of air in her lungs or jump on Harry’s body to rip off his clothes. She opted for a timid “Hi” instead.  
Harry was already smiling as he invited her to come in and Emmy wondered how it didn’t hurt, smiling all the time.

Harry’s apartment was exactly how she imagined it, really stylish and arty, reflecting his personality.

“I am warning you, you’ll never come to my place now I saw where you lived” said Emmy after Harry made her visit the place.

“How come?”

“Well, I have the tiniest place you’ve ever seen at the 6th floor of an old building, cosy but still, your apartment could be featured in a decoration magazine!” she answered smiling, still amazed by how the decoration was so nicely chosen.

She hadn’t been to so many men’s flat, but from her past experiences it was from far her favourite one. Nothing to do with the goose bump she had when Harry’s arms were brushing hers as they were making their way to the kitchen. Nothing at all. 

“I’m glad you like it but to be honest I recently moved in as I got this new job a couple of months ago. I was able to start everything from scratch and get rid of the horrible posters my previous roommate fancied so much” he said in a laugh.

“You kept this one tough?” teased Emmy in a smirk, pointing at a poster in the small hallway, showing a drawing of a girl smoking on a cloudy blue sky.

“Heyyy! You never stop teasing do you?” asked Harry smiling.

“Sorry, I’m a bit nervous” she admitted, making a small face.

“Well, there’s really no need to be” he answered looking at her with pure kindness in his eyes, his hand barely touching her chin.

A bit later they started to eat in a cheerful atmosphere, telling anecdotes and making fun of each other. Harry had cooked honey glazed salmon that was so delicious Emmy wondered if Harry was sent from heaven as the human form of her dream boy. All she needed left was he knowing how to play the guitar and she would reconsider the existence of God. She asked. Harry didn’t. Well at least he was real. 

When they ended desert they moved from the table to comfortably sit on the old leather sofa facing the window. Emmy suspected the view to be very pretty, presumably they could see the park from the balcony during the day. She had to come back in the daylight tough. _Challenge accepted._

Sipping a glass of wine she was telling the story of Champ’, the rabbit she and her sister had when they were children, who atrociously died from still obscure reasons when she realised that Harry was looking at her with a wide smile, laughter in his eyes.

“Why are you laughing? This is absolutely not a funny story!” she shouted hitting Harry’s forearm slightly.

“I really like you Emily” he simply answered, smile as broad as ever, just like it was the more natural thing to say.

Emmy froze for a few seconds, taken aback by what Harry had just said.

“Oh my god, you are killing me Harry” she said blushing. 

“Why that?!” he asked amused.

“Why? Just everything about you! Those curls, this bun, your silly tattoos, this goofy grin that happens to always be spread out on your face, and you telling me that you like…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence and was cut short by Harry, who bent his head to get closer to her face and closed the gap between their lips in a firm closed mouth kiss.

After a short beat he pulled back, staying close to her and looked at her with sparkling eyes asking in a whisper:

“Okay?”

“I wasn’t finished, but yeah I guess” she answered in a smile. 

Harry took it as a signal to go on and closed their lips together again. Then he gently opened their lips and slowly pushed his tongue to chase Emmy’s. They kissed softly first, taking their time, exploring every corner of their mouths and getting used to the new sensation. It quickly became more eager though, as if the tension they both felt for the past days was making them totally loose control.

At some point Emmy reluctantly broke the kiss to search for some air, wondering where the oxygen of the room left. No one was speaking anymore, like they were both afraid to break the magic of the moment. Emmy looked at Harry’s lips, all red from the kiss and moved her glance to his eyes, intensively staring back at her. She felt every single part of her body buzzing under Harry’s touch and whispered into Harry’s ear after having sucked the skin in the hollow under it, that would probably leave a mark:

“I want to feel you…”

Harry’s answer considered in putting each one of his hands under Emmy’s thighs, lifting her and carrying her towards his bedroom. He gently dropped her off on his bed like she was made of porcelain, contrasting with the fierce he was putting in the kiss earlier.

They kissed again for a couple of minutes before Harry started removing her clothes, leaving Emmy all naked under him. And that was not fair, Emmy wanted to see every part of Harry’s body as well. As she was going to ask him to do so Harry shut her up by putting his lips on hers.  
Few seconds later, Harry’s lips freed her mouth to travel on her neck, and kissing softly her ear. 

“Remove. Your. Clothes.” She managed in a gasp.

Harry obeyed quickly and a couple of seconds later, his naked body was pressing onto hers. His hands on each side of her face, he was giving Emmy a deep glance as he gently pushed himself into her who moaned at the pressure. Still looking at her he asked softly:

“Still okay?" 

And yes, Emmy was definitely okay.

 

\--

 

Waking up beside Harry was almost like waking up next to a ray of sunshine. As if the sun had given some of his warmth to the boy. When Emmy opened her eyes, she was wrapped up in his giant arms that were holding her like if at some point she had tried to escape. _Hell no!_

She couldn’t see if Harry was awake too, as she was turning her back to him. Emmy didn’t dare to move to avoid awakening the boy and suddenly felt a wave of panic growing into her. Was she supposed to leave? Was it going to be awkward if Harry woke up and realised they were spooning after their first night together?

She was still trying to figure out what should be her next move when she heard a soft raspy voice whispering in her ear:

“Good morning sunshine” 

Emmy turned around to face Harry, and well, who talked about the sun? She decided that waking up next to this boy who still had sleep in his eyes but managed to be the sexiest person on earth was her new favourite thing to do.

She answered a nearly inaudible “Hey there” with a timid smile, still unsure about how to behave.

“How do you like your eggs?” asked Harry, taking Emmy by surprise, because yes, that wasn’t what she was expecting.

“Scrambled, why?” she answered a bit confused.

“Because I am about to cook you breakfast!” he said with a smile that could provide light to a city in a total blackout.  

“Oh.” Not leaving then.

Harry decided it was the perfect moment to kiss her good morning because he got closer and dropped a light but firm kiss on Emmy’s lips.

“Meet me in 5’ in the kitchen yeah?” He asked removing his arms from where they were holding Emmy’s body. _Nooo stay here_ , she wanted to shout, not sure about when this moment would happen again. To late anyway because Harry was already leaving the bedroom.

She didn’t really count time but the smell of bacon made her got up a bit less reluctantly from Harry’s bed where she was lying half naked, head in his pillow, trying to become filled with his smell. _Pathetic._

When she entered the kitchen she saw him in his briefs, holding a pan with what must be cooked eggs, wearing an orange apron. She smiled to herself, not awoken enough to tease him - but an apron really? – and sat at the small table where Harry had set everything for breakfast.

Harry put half of the eggs in the plate in front of her, and saved the rest for him in the plate across the table. As he sat in front of her, smiling, she couldn’t resist and asked cheerfully:

“An apron. Are you even real Harry?”

“I think so, yeah” he answered laughing a little. 

“Can I touch, you know, just to check?” asked Emmy holding her hand to reach Harry’s forearm.

“You didn’t ask yesterday night” answered Harry in a smirk.

“Oh my God! Stop it already!” she shouted covering her embarrassed face with both hands.

They started eating in a comfortable silence, looking at each other between two sips of their hot tea when Harry asked:

“So, I was wondering, are you doing something special today? Because um, we could have spent the day together?”

 _Yes please let’s stay in your bed all day long and never leave it again,_ was what she wanted to say.

“Ummm…” was what she said.

“I mean, only if you don’t have anything planned already and if you want to of course” added Harry to Emmy’s apparent lack of communications skills.

“No.” 

“No?” He asked surprised.

“I mean yes, sorry. No, I don’t have anything planned and yes I’d like to spend the day with you. I can’t think straight when you look at me like that, Jesus! Would you stop please?”

“No.”

“Oh my!”

And they couldn’t stop giggling for a whole minute.

 

\--

 

They actually didn’t leave the bed much and Emmy didn’t go back to her place before Sunday afternoon. She didn’t know what a honeymoon was like, but if it was even a bit close to this weekend, she would get married right away.

She spent hours spread out over Harry’s body, tracing every line of his tattoos with her fingers, and okay maybe kissing the inked skin from time to time.

They didn’t eat until diner, Harry cooked a nice extravagant sauce to accompany some pasta. They ate watching a movie curled up on the couch under a warm blanket before going to bed again, and, well.

Emmy needed to leave Harry’s embrace at some point as she had planned to see Liam for a drink late in the afternoon. It was already 4 pm and she was still on Harry’s laps as they were watching a rerun of _The O.C._

She left thirty minutes later with one of Harry’s tee shirt, because yes, she hadn’t planned to stay the entire weekend at his place. Hoped maybe, but definitely not planned. He accompanied her to the door to kiss her goodbye in a slow kiss, as if both of them wanted to delay the moment they would need to break apart.

When Harry pulled back Emmy said with a mischievous smile:

“We’ll need to see each other again, you know, so I can give you back your tee shirt.”

Harry laughed and answered “I’ll see you on Tuesday and you can keep the tee shirt.”

“That’s a date then.” She said standing on tiptoe for a last quick goodbye kiss, and left Harry smiling on his doorstep.

 

\--

 

She just had time to take a quick shower after texting Liam that she would be 15 minutes late, for once, at least she was letting him know in advance.

Arriving to their regular bar, she spotted Liam alone, already sipping a beer at a table in the corner of the room. She felt a bit guilty to be glad that he came on his own this time, but they would have some quality time for once, just the two of them like old times. Maybe Liam was still trying to make up from the previous week, and the huge diner fail.

“What happened to you?” was how Liam welcomed her.

“Well hello to you too, rude young man!” she said pulling him in a tight hug.

“Wow. Okay I’m even more curious now” he added in a smile. 

As Emmy was removing her jacket and sat in front of him at the table Liam shouted:

“Oh. My. God. I know, YOU MET SOMEONE!”

“LIAM! Quiet down would you!” she shouted back, blushing at the same time.

“You’re not even denying!”

Liam started to look around like he was searching for someone in the bar. He had his head under the table when Emmy asked:

“Liam, LIAM! What are you doing?”

“I am looking for my friend, Emmy” he answered, making fun of her.

“You are an idiot Liam James Payne” she said fondly.

“Anyway, tell me everything!”

“Sorry but no…”

“What? How dare you young lady?” asked Liam begging her to give details.

“I don’t want to talk about it before it gets more serious, with what happened in the past when I told you those kind of stories…I prefer waiting a bit this time” she answered making a small apologetic face.

“Em! I live for these stories” said a pouty Liam.

“Okay, Okay. I met him last week, he’s… gorgeous, we are getting along really well, I spent the weekend at his place, for now it has been per-fect. That’s it, that’s all you’ll have for today, and don’t try the puppy-eyes-look, not working anymore.”

“Picture?” he tried. 

“Nope.”

“Okay then. Oh since we’re talking about it, you’re still coming Friday night for our house-warming party right?”

“How can I forget, you’re texting me every day about it" said Emmy in a fond voice.

“Great, the only thing is that Zayn’s friend / colleague that you ran out from last time will be there. I’m telling you for you not feel embarrassed when you’ll meet him. I guess it could be awkward for you two. And um, Zayn is still a bit pissed about it to be honest.”

“I should be the one to be pissed about it Liam!” she exclaimed. “And, about his friend perhaps we don’t need to tell him I was the one who sort of ditched him?” added Emmy trying for the more adorable smile she could manage.

“We’re not in high school anymore Em. Anyway, maybe you could invite your new lover so I can meet him in person and act like the protective brother?”

“I thought we weren’t in high school anymore?”

“I take back my invitation” said Liam frowning.

“You’re not! Okay I’ll ask him eventually. Don’t want to scare the hell out of him, it’s only been a week so…”

“Meeting me would only increase your chances with him babe.”

“I really doubt it love” answered Emmy grinning to her friend and waving at the waitress to order her drink.

 

\--

 

Monday afternoon as she was sat at her desk after her lunch break trying to answer all the emails she received – people weren’t eating or what? – she heard her phone vibrating. Looking at the screen she saw that the text was coming from “ _Harry sneak out”._ Maybe it was time to change his contact name.

 _“Hey there! Wearing my floral shirt again today, never liked it that much xx”_

_“Hope you have a nice lipstick to go well with it :) “ s_ he quickly typed back.

 _“Why am I still talking to you?”_ teased Harry.

 _“I have a really accurate answer but don’t feel comfortable typing this kind of description at the office…”_ she answered giggling to herself.

 _“Emily! Now I am the one blushing. Anyway how is your day so far?”_ asked Harry.

_“Busy Monday…”_

_“Why are we waiting tomorrow to see each other again?”_

_“You’re the one who chose the day Harry”_

_“Yeah, forgot I had a diner with my boss :(“_

_“I see your priorities…”_

_“I am kidding, you know I am kidding right? Tell me if I go too far. I can moderate :)”_ added Emmy after a couple of minutes not receiving a reply.

 _“No! I forbid you to moderate, I like it :)”_ answered Harry back.

_“Noted, need to go back to work, see you tomorrow then xx”_

_“Can’t wait Emily xx”_

Going back to her emails she suddenly felt lighter.

 

\--

 

Harry gave her the address of a nice restaurant, not too fancy but still charming, exactly what Emmy liked. She went there right after work, thanking herself of having taken her makeup case with her when she left her place in the morning. A slight retouch would be more than welcome.

Arriving at the restaurant she saw Harry who was waiting for her, leant on the wall next to the front door. Spotting her he waved hello and Emmy wondered if her heart would skip a beat every time she’ll see him.

He welcomed her in a warm kiss, and okay, she could definitely get used to it.

After taking their order they fell in a nice conversation, everything felt easy with Harry. It was nice that for once she could be herself and didn't need to pretend to be someone else. Harry seemed to like her silly stories and weird sense of humour anyway. She didn’t know where this relationship would go, or if she could even name it a relationship yet but she decided to follow the flow this time, and not overthink everything. She just hoped she wouldn’t end with a broken heart, but Harry seemed to be worth the try. 

At some point during the diner Harry asked her:

“I am going to a party on Friday night, I know it still is soon for us but um, could be fun to hang out together?” He added with a smile: “Maybe my sister will tag along so you won’t be trapped with only me here.”

Emily 1 – Bad Luck 1

“Jeez, I have something planned already that I can’t really cancel or my friend would kill me. He’s been talking about it for ages. I wanted to ask you too by the way, but too late anyway.” She answered making a disappointed face.

“Yeah, same. Save your Saturday night for me then?” he asked full of hope.

“For sure, yes” answered Emmy with a broad smile, because how could you resist.

Emmy couldn’t quite believe that Harry asked her to go out with him, maybe she wasn’t the only one feeling that they were really connected. She always had been insecure, don’t know what for. She was over the moon all night long and she even invited Harry to go back home with her after diner. And the day after.

He seemed to like her little perched cocoon because he said yes every time.

 

\--

  

Emmy spent her Thursday night alone in her apartment and the place suddenly felt to big for only her. She already missed Harry’s presence and glowing laugh. God she was so screwed. She didn’t text him though, they exchanged a bit during the day and she didn’t want to seem oppressive. Before going to sleep that night she fulminated a bit against Liam and his stupid party.

Saturday seemed so far away.

Still, the next day she was happy to go. She hasn’t seen Liam and Zayn’s apartment fully decorated yet and she was curious to see how they would have associated their two different styles. And after this busy week filled with emotions she could use couple of drinks with her friends.

In the bus to go there she felt a buzz in her pocket announcing a text from Harry:

_“Already at my party, sad that you’re not here :( Enjoy your night Emily, see you tomorrow  xxx”_

She smiled at the screen and typed back a quick answer:

_“Looking forward to it :) xxx”_

Arriving at her friends’ place she was welcomed by an already tipsy Liam in a warm hug, already holding her a bottle of beer. This was going to be fun. Spending a night with Drunk Liam was priceless. She entered in the apartment and well the place was lovely. God, was she the only one with an old crappy place? It was a nice loft furnished with style. She recognised easily what came from Liam’s old apartment and the arty things Zayn must have brought from his.

She quickly spotted some common friends with whom she started to have a chat with. Suddenly she heard a voice calling her name right beside her, and turning over she almost bumped into a smiling Zayn. 

They hugged quickly and as Emmy was trying to compliment their new home Zayn cut her short saying in a smirk:

“Follow me I want to introduce you to someone.”

They made their way to the kitchen and then Zayn said, tapping a tall guy’s shoulder who was searching for something in the fridge.

“Harry, this is Emmy, Emmy this is Harry from the ‘restaurant sneak out’.”

And well, bastard.

The tall guy suddenly turned over to face them and said in a surprised face:

“Emily? Emmy?!” 

_Wait, Harry like in Harry, “my” Harry?_

“What are you doing here?” asked Harry a bit confused but smiling as usual.

Emily who was still processing wasn’t fast enough to answer, so Zayn did it for her, frowning in confusion:

“You guys know each other?”

Still not fast enough, Tipsy Liam chose his best moment to arrive in the kitchen and cut short Emmy’s attempt to answer, shouting:

“Emmyyyy, where is your boyfrieeend?”

She turned her gaze away from Harry to Liam quickly and asked blushing:

“My what?”

“Your boy-friend?” said Liam in a sing-song voice.

Taken aback she answered mumbling: “Um, Liam there is no boy…”

But then she heard a small “Excuse me” coming from Harry who was leaving the kitchen, hurt on his face, making his way to the entrance. He took his jacket and left the place.

She looked back at Liam and shouted:

“LIAM I DON’T HAVE A BOYFRIEND, HARRY WAS THE ONE I WANTED TO BRING HERE.”

“What?” Zayn and Liam asked confused in a common voice.

“I don't know but I met him two weeks ago.”

“Oh.”

“Yes. ‘Oh’ ” she said, making her way to look for Harry.

 

\--

 

Emmy searched for her phone in her purse and quickly looked for Harry’s contact to call him. When she read _Harry sneak out_ , she suddenly remembered everything. Table for four, Zayn’s colleague, the toilets, the sneaking out, Harry third wheel thing and him tagging along. How she didn’t get it before?  
She was supposed to meet Harry that night.

She called him and he obviously didn’t answer. Emmy didn’t leave a voicemail, no one ever listened to it, but opted for a text instead:

“ _Harry can you come back? I can explain the boyfriend thing :( Please? x”_

She pressed the Send button when she heard a familiar voice next to her:

“I am sorry Em, didn’t want to make him go away. Sorry I didn’t get it, but um, you can explain it to him right?” said Liam, all apologetic.

“Yes sure, just a misunderstanding right?” she answered, trying to smile.

Anyway her party mood left the apartment with Harry so she decided to sit on the comfy armchair in the corner of the room, silently sipping her beer.

It was about forty minutes later that she saw Harry entering the flat again. Emmy quickly stood up to intercept him, spilling half of her second beer in the process.

She dragged him in the bedroom, not leaving him a chance to talk. When she shut the door she started:

“Harry, I’m sorry I can explain…”

He cut her off and said slowly:

“No, I am sorry, I acted like a 15 years old teenager. We didn’t promise anything right? It’s just that I thought we had a real connection, and for once I was really glad to, um,…” He added searching for words: “It’s just that I really like you.”

“That was you” said Emmy in a soft voice, looking for Harry’s eyes.

“Sorry?” he asked confused.

“My boyfriend. I mean, not that I consider you as my boyfriend, but um, jeez, I make things worse for myself.” She took a deep breath and went on: “The guy Liam was talking about, that was you. I’m not seeing anyone else.”   
“And by the way I never told him you were my boyfriend” she added, embarrassed as hell.

“That was me?” He asked after a beat.

“Yep” answered Emmy feeling her face reddening under Harry’s gaze.

“Oh.” 

“I guess I sneaked out on you but found you anyway in the toilets that night” she said laughing a little.

“Well, that’s good news” whispered Harry, moving closer to her.

“Yeah?” she asked hopeful.

Then Harry bent his head and dropped a warm kiss on her lips, very gently. He pulled back and answered grinning:

“Yeah.”

Emmy couldn’t stop smiling now staring at this wonderful boy and was pulled out of her daydream when Harry said in a smirk:

“So, about the boyfriend thing…”

“I am really embarrassed, you know Liam makes a fuss over nothing” she cut him short, chewing her lip from the awkwardness of the situation and looking at her feet.

“Can I be?”

She raised her head to meet Harry’s eyes. He was looking at her, his broad smile showing his dimples and green eyes glimmering in the darkness of the room. She didn’t hesitate much to answer: 

“Definitely.”

Few seconds later, there they were, kissing in their friends’ bedroom, surrounded by the beat of some pop music playing in the background. And well, how bad would it be to sneak out?

 

 

***

 


End file.
